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The Guinness Book of World Records has sold 132 million copies across more than 100 countries since it first appeared in 1955.

The book is now known as Guinness World Records. It tells us who is the best, fastest, biggest, most or smallest in the world.

You can read about superhuman efforts and the extremes of the natural world in Guinness World Records. You might think they are unbelievable but the publishers confirmed all of them.

Recently, the Guinness World Records announced the new record holders for 2016.

Fastest Tortoise

Bertie is a tortoise. Bertie broke a record set in 1977 for the world’s fastest tortoise. His top speed was 0.28 meters a second.

Marco Calzini is Bertie’s owner. He says that it is uncommon for such an animal to be fast.

"A lot of people noticed that he was very fast and the staff as well noticed he was very quick so we looked at this and we thought yeah, he is for a tortoise. It's very unusual for a tortoise to be so active."

Purin that is Beagle catching ball

Another record-setting animal is a beagle named Purin, from Chiba, Japan. Many dogs can catch a ball, but not like Purin. She became a world record holder. She caught 14 balls in one minute with her paws.

Steer

Guinness World Records also is recognizing Lazy J's Bluegrass, a steer from the American state of Kansas. He has the longest horns in the world. They are nearly three meters long, from end to end.

Finally, the American state of Texas is known for having many big things. You can find some really big cowboy boots in San Antonio, Texas.

Large Cowboy Boots in Texas

Bob Wade is an artist who creates sculptures. He says that people are surprised that his cowboy boots are so huge. You only realize how big they are when you walk up to them.

"People are pretty amazed because they don't realize until they park and walk right up to them how big they are. You go down the highway, you can see them from a distance but unless you come to the mall and park and come over there you have no idea how big they are."

Guinness World Records celebrates its 60th anniversary this year.

I’m Jill Robbins.

VOA’s Faiza Elmasry reported this story. Haruka Takeuchi adapted her report for Learning English. George Grow was the editor.

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Words in This Story

superhuman –adj. greater than normal human power, size, or ability

achievement– n. a result of hard work

tortoise. a kind of turtle that lives on land

beagle – n. a type of small dog used for hunting that has smooth black, brown, and white fur

paw – n. the foot of an animal that has claws

steer – n. a male cow that has had its sex organs removed and is raised for meat

sculpture– n. a piece of art that is made by cutting or shaping metal, clay or stone.

Now it's your turn. Have you ever seen an amazing animal? Write to us about it in the comments section.